


A moment.

by dracdad



Category: Hotel Transylvania (Movies)
Genre: F/M, death mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-09-20
Packaged: 2019-06-25 17:51:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15645876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dracdad/pseuds/dracdad
Summary: Dracula talks to Martha.





	1. Chapter 1

  "I know," he began, his arms hugging his legs closely to his chest; eyes staring into the lovely artificial eyes he's spent countless hours looking into, "I haven't done this since Mavis got married, but..." somehow, it wasn't the same. The eyecolor was the same, and the expression was just as warm as the real thing, he remembered. And oh, he remembered. But the painting lacked... that certain something her eyes had once held -- beautiful, drawing him in like a magnet and wrapping his heart in a much needed gentle embrace.

  The room was dark; not even candles had been lit, and yet Dracula could see perfectly. His eyes glowed a faint hue of blue in the pitch-blackness of the room as he sat uncomfortably on the floor, talking to someone who wasn't really there.

  "... But I just had to say something. I uh. I met -- someone." Inwardly, he winced a little; glanced downwards. "Mavy thought it'd be a good idea for us to go out on vacation for once -- and well, as you could imagine, I wasn't really that excited at first. But it was kind of fun, I guess. We went out on this -- cruise ship." A pause, his pale lips twitched. "I know; me, on a boat. Yes, that's... very funny, Martha," the last part was said more quietly, a dull and persistent pain creeping into his chest.

  "I zinged," he blurted out after a long silence had passed, and somehow, he felt a weigh being lifted off his shoulders. "With the captain. Her name is... Ericka. Ericka Van Helsing." Dracula frowned. "Yes, I know how that sounds -- that man was crazy. He's still alive, by the way. Somehow. But she's... nice. And no, she's not going to hurt me, I'm fine.

  "She's very kind and clever. Mavis and her are getting along pretty well. But -- don't get me wrong, honey. I... I still miss you a lot. I just had to -- move on. Frank said it wasn't good for me, so I tried. It didn't feel as bad as I'd thought -- taking off the... our wedding ring. It's been a very long time, and it wasn't making me feel any good." A long sigh escaped from inside his lungs. "I'm... I'm sorry. But I'm sure you would've wanted me to be happy. Wouldn't you?

  "He tried to kill us in Atlantis -- her great-grandfather. Almost succeeded, until she saved me. She saved all of us; monsters. And... yeah, Johnny did, too." A ghost of a smile made its way onto his facial features, and the vampire shook his head. "Mavis is very happy with him; oh, you would be so proud of her. She's grown up so much, our little baby.

  "Oh, I'm a grandfather now! I forgot to tell. We are... both grandparents, darling. His name is Dennis. He has all this -- red curly hair on his little head, just like his own dad. But he's a vampire. Not that it matters, of course, but he got his fangs on his fifth birthday! He's the sweetest kid." His smile had widened tenfold, to the point he was actually grinning now; his long fangs peeking from behind his lips.

  Then, a noise.

  His sensitive ears picked up a barely noticeable sound coming from the closed door a few metres away from where he sat. His smile fell, and his brows furrowed into a frown, his head cocking to one side in curiosity and in order to hear better.

\----------

  Outside, Ericka was feeling conflicted; her small hand covered her mouth as she tried to carefully listen in to what her boyfriend (was that the correct term?) spoke to his deceased wife. A cocktail of emotions swirled in the pit of her stomach: jealousy, sadness, pity, guilt.

  What should she do? Should she dare say something? The human wondered if Drac could even hear her breathing from out here, for what something all these years of studying his kind had taught her, was that their senses were much more developed than hers. But maybe not.

  Wait, why had he suddenly gone so quiet again?

  The wooden door creaked open, and a very confused Count looked at her from inside the room; his hand holding said door open.

  "Oh, uh. Hey."

  "Hello." What was she doing out here? Had she been listening in? "What -- What are you doing here, my love?"

  "I was just... Sorry. This isn't -- This isn't what it looks like."

  He raised an eyebrow.

  "I mean," she interjected, "it... Maybe it is, but I couldn't help it. I'm... sorry, Drac. I got worried."

  The vampire's expression softened. "I'm fine, don't worry. I was only..."

  "Oh no, you don't have to explain yourself. Just... do you want some company?" He shouldn't sulk on his own like this, it wasn't healthy.

  "... I don't know."

  She frowned, a little rejected. "Ah, Okay."

  "Okay?"

  "I mean -- if you'd rather -- instead spend time with --" She outright winced. That sounded horrible. She was awful.

  Ouch. "No, no. I just need some alone time, I promise." He shifted a little on his spot, awkwardly. "It's... not -- Ericka. My wife... Martha. You and her -- What you and I have is not the same. From what she and I had. I know we haven't talked about this, but... maybe we should."

  She nodded, agreeing with him. "Yeah."

  "But not now. I'm..." Dracula glanced away. Why was it so hard to put his thoughts into words sometimes?

  "It's fine," she reassured him softly, placing a hand over his chest, his heart beating slowly but strong under her fingertips. "We can talk later. But... are you sure you want to --"

  "No. You can come in."

  She blinked up at him, quite surprised. "All right."

  The first thing Ericka noticed once the door had closed behind her, was the darkness -- but that soon changed when, with a graceful wave of his own hand, a couple of candles got magically lit. Her eyes landed on the huge painting that hung from the wall, and slowly, she approached it, filled to the brim with curiosity.

  A long hand placed itself on her shoulder -- Drac's hand -- and she looked up at him.

  "We were together for a very long time. Almost three-hundred years. Martha was... my soulmate. She was my everything."

  Some jealousy bubbled up inside her chest again, which she unsuccessfully tried to drown. Unfortunately, he glanced down at her right then.

  "But you're my soulmate as well. Don't ever doubt that," he added softly, blue eyes linked with hers. "I love you."

  She smiled.

  "What was her favorite color?"

  "Uh. What?"

  "Her favorite color?"

  "Oh. Red. It was deep red." Dracula glanced away from her, breaking eye contact; but this time she didn't mind.

  Her smile grew, instead, and her eyes met the painting's once again. "My great-grandfather likes blue."

  "Hrm."

  "I know he's kind of... you know. But he's my family too."

  The vampire chuckled lightly. "That's how I feel about my father. He can really be a bit too much sometimes. And no one can get on my nerves like he can. It's pretty impressive, really."

  "Hah. Well, maybe all four of us are trying our best now."

  "I hope so -- he's still annoying."

  "Who, your father, or my great-grandfather?"

  A thoughful little hum. "Both."

  Ericka laughed, and he held her closer.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of dialogue.

  “... Tell me more about her.”  
  
  “What?”   
  
  “Your wife. Martha, was it?”   
  
  “Oh.” He blinked; frowned. “I... sure. But why are you asking about her all of a sudden?” A cold hand ran up and down her arm soothingly, as if he were trying to distract her. It wasn't a topic he liked to talk about, she knew, but it was necessary.   
  
  She shrugged, and shivered slightly in bed -- his lips twitched. “... I don't know. I guess I'm just -- curious.”   
  
  “... She liked red,” he began after a long pause. “She taught me it wasn't wrong to be who I am.” Laying next to her, her scent was more than distracting in itself; was that vanilla, he smelled, too? More quietly and grumpily, the vampire next added, “What my dad would have called a wimp.”   
  
  “Oh.”   
  
  “Yes, but I'm glad she did. I'm -- comfortable. With who I am, now.”   
  
  “My... great-grandfather never was comfortable with who I am. He always told me what to do, or what not to do.”   
  
  “Hrm.”   
  
  “That's why I'm kind of glad he's stayed in the cruise.”   
  
  “... But?”   
  
  “It's... scary.”   
  
  A pause -- things dawned on him finally. “Ah. Well, one should do what they want to do as well, not only what they're supposed to. You're not alone here, Ericka. You're with us now.” A pause. “I stopped talking to my own father after I realized he wasn't good for me at all. Moved on. Had a life with Martha.”   
  
  “Right.” She glanced away briefly.   
  
  “Do you... still want me to talk about her?”   
  
  She nodded, convinced, and sat up; her white pyjamas visible in the pitch darkness of the room, from his own trained vampire eyes. “Yeah.”   
  
  He sat up too. “She was an artist -- enjoyed drawing and painting quite a lot. Writing poetry. We met by coincidence, too.”   
  
  Ericka perked up. “Oh?”   
  
  “We were both flying one night and...” he chuckled, “crashed into each other. I didn't even know what a Zing was back then. But I knew I wanted her to become my wife one day in the future.”   
  
  In spite of herself, she smiled warmly, for his current expression was more than completely adorable.   
  
  “She was kind, playful, and sweet. Had a beautiful smile. Like you do, honey. Though of course yours is way different than hers. Oh, you should have seen her parents’ faces when she told them who she intended to marry.”   
  
  “What do you mean?”   
  
  “Well, the Dracula family is very respected and looked up to in the monster world -- And they wanted her to marry some nobody she didn't even like. It was... quite a surprise, and her father gave us his blessing right away.” He was grinning now, his long teeth peeking from behind his lips. Her own soft smile widened.   
  
  “I bet. My great-grandfather and I never talked about me and the possibility of marriage. We always had -- other things in mind.”   
  
  Dracula nodded, understanding. She didn't have to make herself understood by saying more on that particular subject, if it made her uncomfortable.   
  
  “It's a bit scary not to have him around, but I'll get used to it, don't worry. I'm not young, I know, Drac. But I'd like to spend as much time with you all as I can.” And get to know them all better -- they were her family now.   
  
  Oh, no. Not that subject. He shifted a little on his spot; glanced down. Her warm hand placed itself on his then, and he looked back up into her pair of  beautiful blue eyes.   
  
  “I want to be a vampire, Drac. Just... think about it at least. But know I won't force you to do it if you don't want to.”   
  
  “... Thank you.”   
  
  
  Awkward.   
  
  “My great-grandfather likes blue,” she added, a little too quickly. “He raised me on his own because my own parents died during a mission in Africa.”   
  
  “I'm sorry.”   
  
  “Don't be. I know now it wasn't the fault of any of you -- it was an accident.”   
  
  “Still -- I'm sorry you had to grow up without parents, darling. I don't remember my own mother; so I kind of know what that's like.”   
  
  “Yeah?”   
  
  Dismissively, the vampire waved a hand at her. “It's fine. It doesn't really matter anymore. Not in that way, at least. Just -- my father never told me about her. I don't know why, but I only know her name. And that she was a full vampire, and how she died. Which of course should be irrelevant now.”   
  
  “Have you asked him?”   
  
  “Oh - ho, trust me, I have. But he always brushes me off.” As if the woman was somehow unimportant.   
  
  Ericka frowned. “My great-grandfather never missed a chance to talk about them. He and my father were pretty close.”   
  
  “... You know, she would've liked you. Martha, I mean.”   
  
  “Really?” Her eyes lit up.   
  
  “Of course! You're very likeable.”   
  
  Ericka chuckled at his poor attempt at flirting; found it cute, even. “Right. Thank you.”   
  
  “I hope -- if she is somewhere, wherever that is, she's -- happy.”   
  
  “I'm sure she is, honey. And I'm sure she would be proud of you and Mavis.” They were both amazing people, and she’d probably be absolutely delighted to meet Dennis as well, she assumed.   
  
  A smile. “Yeah.”   
  
  “Thank you, by the way. I know it's not easy for you to talk about her still.”   
  
  “I know -- I try.”   
  
  She kissed his cheek. “Maybe we should try to get some rest.”   
  
  “Mhm.”   
  
  “Drac.”   
  
  “Yes, yes. I know. Come here.” Laying back down on the big double-sized bed they'd bought, Dracula pulled her to lay on his clothed chest, and sighed contently.

**Author's Note:**

> Might add more chapters if I feel inspired.


End file.
